Greene King, the brewer and pub operator, has acquired the privately-owned New Century Inns (NCI) for £32.6m.

Teeside-based NCI’s portfolio consists of 49 high-quality tenanted and leased pubs in Northumberland, County Durham, Yorkshire and Derbyshire.

The deal will augment Greene King’s existing Laurel and Hardys & Hansons estates, bought in 1994 and 2006 respectively, situated in the north and the Midlands of England.

Greene King’s chief executive, Rooney Anand, said: “New Century Inns' pubs are located across the North and North East, areas where we are keen to grow our presence.”

Alistair Arkley, chair of NCI, added: “We had reached a point where further significant acquisitions were needed to scale the business up to the next level and we took the decision that the best interests of the shareholders and licensees at New Century Inns were served by joining a larger organisation such as Greene King.”

Photograph: Greene King chief executive Rooney Anand